What do you think?
Rate this book
Gunman's Reckoning
A gunman agrees to do a rich man’s dirty work in this classic Western from one of the genre’s early masters.
“The Shakespeare of the Western range.” —New York Times Book Review
“The Shakespeare of the Western range.” —New York Times Book Review
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1915
291 people are currently reading
479 people want to read
About the author
Max Brand
1,821 books135 followersFrederick Schiller Faust (see also Frederick Faust), aka Frank Austin, George Owen Baxter, Walter C. Butler, George Challis, Evin Evan, Evan Evans, Frederick Faust, John Frederick, Frederick Frost, David Manning, Peter Henry Morland, Lee Bolt, Peter Dawson, Martin Dexter, Dennis Lawson, M.B., Hugh Owen, Nicholas Silver
Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.
Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
July 28, 2023
Clear the Stage for Donnegan!
Gunman’s Reckoning is my second book by Max Brand, whose real name was – believe it or not – Frederick Schiller Faust, which leads me to suppose that his parents must have had an exuberant sense of humour. Unlike the first Brand western I read, this one, however interesting the plot, tended to be a little bit histrionic and unnecessarily slow-going.
After a somewhat pointless introduction, our hero Donnegan – a man who suffers from his small size – walks into an evil old man who sends him on a morally doubtful mission including the capture of a gold mine. Donnegan accepts this mission because, although he does not realize it yet, he has fallen for the old man’s saintly daughter, who is the fiancée of the man Donnegan has to face. If you think this is going to be a traditional love triangle, beware! Because Brand is going to make matters more complicated by throwing in a femme fatale and a formidable outlaw gang leader. There will be lots of, mostly verbal, confrontations, some teichoscopic shooting, and one quite predictable surprise revelation. Brand’s prose is remarkable but sometimes indulges in passages like the following, of which I could not decide whether I found them moving or over-the-top:
Gunman’s Reckoning is my second book by Max Brand, whose real name was – believe it or not – Frederick Schiller Faust, which leads me to suppose that his parents must have had an exuberant sense of humour. Unlike the first Brand western I read, this one, however interesting the plot, tended to be a little bit histrionic and unnecessarily slow-going.
After a somewhat pointless introduction, our hero Donnegan – a man who suffers from his small size – walks into an evil old man who sends him on a morally doubtful mission including the capture of a gold mine. Donnegan accepts this mission because, although he does not realize it yet, he has fallen for the old man’s saintly daughter, who is the fiancée of the man Donnegan has to face. If you think this is going to be a traditional love triangle, beware! Because Brand is going to make matters more complicated by throwing in a femme fatale and a formidable outlaw gang leader. There will be lots of, mostly verbal, confrontations, some teichoscopic shooting, and one quite predictable surprise revelation. Brand’s prose is remarkable but sometimes indulges in passages like the following, of which I could not decide whether I found them moving or over-the-top:
”There was an odd mixture of emotions in Donnegan; but he felt most nearly like the poor man from whose hand his daughter tugs back and looks wistfully, hopelessly, into the bright window at all the toys. What pain is there greater than the pain that comes to the poor man in such a time? He huddles his coat about him, for his heart is a cold as a Christmas day; and if it would make his child happy, he would pour out his heart’s blood on the snow.”
February 3, 2021
I am unable to write a summary of the plot of this book. I can only say that I could hardly put it down, and finished the last half while I should have been working. This is the first time I've ever read a "Western" novel. I was never an especial fan of Western or Cowboy movies as a kid. Sure, I remember watching a few Gunsmoke and Bonanza reruns, but I wasn't particularly enamored with them. I remember my dad listening to Western music like Marty Robbins when I was little and I always got a new cap gun every summer, but that's just the way it was back in the 1970s. So I was totally unprepared for how much I enjoyed this book.
Okay, let's get some things out of the way: Yes, it's an old book originally published in 1921, and not always PC for a 2018 crowd. There's a black character who's a loyal servant who smiles a lot. Women are flowers, even when they're tough. Men are manly men with ice water in their veins who let cold, hard steel and hot lead do their talking, and if not they were "yellow." And the story can be somewhat melodramatic even when it is genuinely dramatic and tense. You run across sentences like "It was a cold-blooded suggestion, but [he] was a cold-blooded man." Or "As he looked at the girl, where she sat on the boulder, he knew definitely, first and last, that he loved her, and that he would never again love any other woman." And the ending... well, yes... I can't summarize that for you either. But if you want to appreciate this novel you have to read it the same way you'd watch to appreciate an old movie: sure, they over-acted sometimes and emotional outbursts happened more often and were more dramatic than in normal life, and the end comes up fast with a flourish by the orchestra as the curtains close, but that's just how it was and when they couldn't rely upon fancy special effects they had to know how to really tell a story. And if you can do that while reading this novel, you just might join me in saying: I think I might be a big fan of Max Brand!
Okay, let's get some things out of the way: Yes, it's an old book originally published in 1921, and not always PC for a 2018 crowd. There's a black character who's a loyal servant who smiles a lot. Women are flowers, even when they're tough. Men are manly men with ice water in their veins who let cold, hard steel and hot lead do their talking, and if not they were "yellow." And the story can be somewhat melodramatic even when it is genuinely dramatic and tense. You run across sentences like "It was a cold-blooded suggestion, but [he] was a cold-blooded man." Or "As he looked at the girl, where she sat on the boulder, he knew definitely, first and last, that he loved her, and that he would never again love any other woman." And the ending... well, yes... I can't summarize that for you either. But if you want to appreciate this novel you have to read it the same way you'd watch to appreciate an old movie: sure, they over-acted sometimes and emotional outbursts happened more often and were more dramatic than in normal life, and the end comes up fast with a flourish by the orchestra as the curtains close, but that's just how it was and when they couldn't rely upon fancy special effects they had to know how to really tell a story. And if you can do that while reading this novel, you just might join me in saying: I think I might be a big fan of Max Brand!
April 1, 2017
A three and a half star Western, March 31, 2017
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gunman's Reckoning (Kindle Edition)
Typical 1920's Max Brand western with a convoluted romance, not triangle or even quadrangle but a five sided polygon with the usual confusion in this type of novel. Boy A loves girl A but thinks she loves boy B who thinks he loves girl B who loves boy C. I could go on but I think that description is confusing enough. There is also the little matter that boys A and C are tough and deadly gunmen who are on a collision course. This novel also features a most unpleasant, greedy, conniving, duplicitous and dangerous villain who happens to be girl A's father. There is also a gold mine, love at first sight, reading people by their physical appearances, broad generalizations, etc. I don't think that this is a solid four star novel but under Amazon's rating system, three stars is considered critical and I can't give three and a half stars so four stars it is.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gunman's Reckoning (Kindle Edition)
Typical 1920's Max Brand western with a convoluted romance, not triangle or even quadrangle but a five sided polygon with the usual confusion in this type of novel. Boy A loves girl A but thinks she loves boy B who thinks he loves girl B who loves boy C. I could go on but I think that description is confusing enough. There is also the little matter that boys A and C are tough and deadly gunmen who are on a collision course. This novel also features a most unpleasant, greedy, conniving, duplicitous and dangerous villain who happens to be girl A's father. There is also a gold mine, love at first sight, reading people by their physical appearances, broad generalizations, etc. I don't think that this is a solid four star novel but under Amazon's rating system, three stars is considered critical and I can't give three and a half stars so four stars it is.
January 15, 2013
Frederick Schiller Faust (1892-1944) was a prolific writer that wrote under a number of pseudonyms. One of these was Max Brand. Faust was to literature as Bach, Haydn and Mozart were to music. The sheer amount of work he produced in his relatively short life is mind boggling. Most of his published works could be put in the category of western as at the time it was written readers couldn't get enough of tales of the Wild West. This time covers a relative short period of time but made a remarkable worldwide impact. Gunman’s Reckoning is a great example of his work. It has a bit of everything….love; lies, action and humor combine to make a very readable tale. It is a must read for all those taken with the western genre.
October 18, 2018
Excellent, Though Not For Everyone
I've read some of the reviews. I know that there are some who are so jaded by today's flash and spectacle that they dislike this story. I also know that they are missing out. All the glitz, glamor and special effects tend to hide the fact that the storyline is weak. Or nonexistant. Max Brand's writing makes you see what he wants you to see. And he gives you plenty to look at. It's a straight-line tale, with twists and turns that always bring you back to the point. What is the point? That would be telling. Come see for yourself. Bring a cup of tea or coffee, a glass of lemonade or plain water. Come spend some quiet time with a master story teller of his genre. If you're disappointed, give yourself the once over because there is nothing wrong here.
I've read some of the reviews. I know that there are some who are so jaded by today's flash and spectacle that they dislike this story. I also know that they are missing out. All the glitz, glamor and special effects tend to hide the fact that the storyline is weak. Or nonexistant. Max Brand's writing makes you see what he wants you to see. And he gives you plenty to look at. It's a straight-line tale, with twists and turns that always bring you back to the point. What is the point? That would be telling. Come see for yourself. Bring a cup of tea or coffee, a glass of lemonade or plain water. Come spend some quiet time with a master story teller of his genre. If you're disappointed, give yourself the once over because there is nothing wrong here.
December 30, 2022
I was long under the impression that Max Brand was a pulp writing active and working today. This is because years ago when I worked in a bookstore, Brand's books still came out about once a month, staying on the shelves about a year before going out of print in favor of some other title. (Our western section was very small, mostly made up of Louis Lamour, which was the only author who actually sold much.) Brand wrote a lot, I suppose, and the mass market company publishing his stuff was still pumping it out on a schedule--putting it back into print and then taking it back out of print. But in terms of when he was writing, well, that part I had dead wrong. His stuff goes back to the 1920s; the publisher was merely recycling old stuff.
I discovered this rather recently, as I started reading this list of westerns, a genre I haven't spent much time with. I'm reading mostly chronologically, so I had intended next to turn to Zane Grey, but I wanted to be devoted to that book, and Brand was available for free public domain download on my phone--I figured I'd read it in between the more serious other reading I was doing, that is, whenever I found myself in a waiting room with nothing but my phone in hand.
The text definitely is what I would have expected from a pulp western. It was rather silly overall, with lots of tough talk, lots of fighting, lots of plot twists, and characters who seem too over-the-top to be real. The book centers on one Donnegan, but it doesn't start off with him. Rather, we're introduced first to some hobo on a train who is out to murder a man who has broken up his gang. That man who is to be killed as it turns out to Donnegan, who remains a rather shadowy figure for much of the novel. He seems more like a sheriff in these early passages, but once he jettisons from the train, holding on to his life, he is seen for what he is: a hobo also, a wanderer of the world--but one with a keen ability to wield a gun, to see through people, and to manipulate people.
Donnegan finds his way to a house, where he meets a woman (Lou) whom he almost instantly falls for, even though they've barely spoken a word. He wants a place to stay, but that requires the approval of the woman's father (the colonel), who won't take visitors. Donnegan insists, and somehow the old man comes to view Donnegan as an asset who can help him reclaim a mine for himself and his daughter's fiancé (Landis) for herself. In fact, the woman is in love with this fiance, who in turn has gone to work in the mining town, fallen in love with yet someone else, and run off with the old man's fortune. Donnegan is on the trail to help. Sure, he wants the daughter, but since the daughter wants this other man, Donnegan, because he truly loves this woman, sets out to get this other man back for her. I can't say the motivation here really convinces me: men will do lots for folks they love, but for someone they've barely met and mostly to enable that person to have someone else? It seems rather crazy to take one's life in hand that way.
Donnegan's plan essentially involves making himself into a "big" deal in the town, impressing folks with his gunwork and some money he comes into through a shady interaction with another shady character, a gambler whom Donnegan robs and sends away. This plan involves making the mining town woman (Nelly) who has run off with the fiancé (Landis) of the woman who is in love with him (Lou) fall in love with Donnegan himself. The plan largely works, it seems, but as it turns out, the woman, Nelly, who has taken the fiancé is actually just doing so as a ruse, as she's in love with yet another man (Nick), who in turn is absconding with the old man's mining interests through the fiancé but only because the old man himself had absconded with the mining interests of a friend of Nick's. More plot twists follow, and love seems to come and go quick for the men and women at the center of the story. In the end, of course, there's a reckoning, a shootout, and most all is sorted out (except maybe what happens to Landis in the end, but who cares--he's just a plot point).
I discovered this rather recently, as I started reading this list of westerns, a genre I haven't spent much time with. I'm reading mostly chronologically, so I had intended next to turn to Zane Grey, but I wanted to be devoted to that book, and Brand was available for free public domain download on my phone--I figured I'd read it in between the more serious other reading I was doing, that is, whenever I found myself in a waiting room with nothing but my phone in hand.
The text definitely is what I would have expected from a pulp western. It was rather silly overall, with lots of tough talk, lots of fighting, lots of plot twists, and characters who seem too over-the-top to be real. The book centers on one Donnegan, but it doesn't start off with him. Rather, we're introduced first to some hobo on a train who is out to murder a man who has broken up his gang. That man who is to be killed as it turns out to Donnegan, who remains a rather shadowy figure for much of the novel. He seems more like a sheriff in these early passages, but once he jettisons from the train, holding on to his life, he is seen for what he is: a hobo also, a wanderer of the world--but one with a keen ability to wield a gun, to see through people, and to manipulate people.
Donnegan finds his way to a house, where he meets a woman (Lou) whom he almost instantly falls for, even though they've barely spoken a word. He wants a place to stay, but that requires the approval of the woman's father (the colonel), who won't take visitors. Donnegan insists, and somehow the old man comes to view Donnegan as an asset who can help him reclaim a mine for himself and his daughter's fiancé (Landis) for herself. In fact, the woman is in love with this fiance, who in turn has gone to work in the mining town, fallen in love with yet someone else, and run off with the old man's fortune. Donnegan is on the trail to help. Sure, he wants the daughter, but since the daughter wants this other man, Donnegan, because he truly loves this woman, sets out to get this other man back for her. I can't say the motivation here really convinces me: men will do lots for folks they love, but for someone they've barely met and mostly to enable that person to have someone else? It seems rather crazy to take one's life in hand that way.
Donnegan's plan essentially involves making himself into a "big" deal in the town, impressing folks with his gunwork and some money he comes into through a shady interaction with another shady character, a gambler whom Donnegan robs and sends away. This plan involves making the mining town woman (Nelly) who has run off with the fiancé (Landis) of the woman who is in love with him (Lou) fall in love with Donnegan himself. The plan largely works, it seems, but as it turns out, the woman, Nelly, who has taken the fiancé is actually just doing so as a ruse, as she's in love with yet another man (Nick), who in turn is absconding with the old man's mining interests through the fiancé but only because the old man himself had absconded with the mining interests of a friend of Nick's. More plot twists follow, and love seems to come and go quick for the men and women at the center of the story. In the end, of course, there's a reckoning, a shootout, and most all is sorted out (except maybe what happens to Landis in the end, but who cares--he's just a plot point).
April 1, 2017
Three and half star Western, March 31, 2017
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gunman's Reckoning (Kindle Edition)
Typical 1920's Max Brand western with a convoluted romance, not triangle or even quadrangle but a five sided polygon with the usual confusion in this type of novel. Boy A loves girl A but thinks she loves boy B who thinks he loves girl B who loves boy C. I could go on but I think that description is confusing enough. There is also the little matter that boys A and C are tough and deadly gunmen who are on a collision course. This novel also features a most unpleasant, greedy, conniving, duplicitous and dangerous villain who happens to be girl A's father. There is also a gold mine, love at first sight, reading people by their physical appearances, broad generalizations, etc. I don't think that this is a solid four star novel but under Amazon's rating system, three stars is considered critical and I can't give three and a half stars so four stars it is.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gunman's Reckoning (Kindle Edition)
Typical 1920's Max Brand western with a convoluted romance, not triangle or even quadrangle but a five sided polygon with the usual confusion in this type of novel. Boy A loves girl A but thinks she loves boy B who thinks he loves girl B who loves boy C. I could go on but I think that description is confusing enough. There is also the little matter that boys A and C are tough and deadly gunmen who are on a collision course. This novel also features a most unpleasant, greedy, conniving, duplicitous and dangerous villain who happens to be girl A's father. There is also a gold mine, love at first sight, reading people by their physical appearances, broad generalizations, etc. I don't think that this is a solid four star novel but under Amazon's rating system, three stars is considered critical and I can't give three and a half stars so four stars it is.
January 13, 2021
Blind date with a book. I picked up Donnegan (aka Gunman's Reckoning) randomly at a garage sale years ago and finally dusted it off to read over the New Year's weekend. This was my first western and I loved it. For me, experiencing this genre as a book rather than a film was much more entertaining and meaningful. That's because in a western movie, characters barely talk (think Clint Eastwood squinting into the sun, chewing on his cigar) and drop like flies over a 2-3hr timeframe, so that most times I don't feel particularly invested in who lives, who dies, etc. Gunman's Reckoning, on the other hand, has great character development but loses none of the fast paced, tense action, all the while carrying that consistent atmospheric feel. Also this author must have been nuts, having written dozens of westerns under 10 different pen names. it boggles my mind that in 1921 alone he published 8 other novels along with Donnegan (mind you this is a fully fleshed out story with great writing). Consider me hooked.
P.S. my book was a faulty print, missing 8 pages (bought the e-book just for the missing 8) and duplicating like 30 others. Thanks, unknown garage sale guy!
P.S. my book was a faulty print, missing 8 pages (bought the e-book just for the missing 8) and duplicating like 30 others. Thanks, unknown garage sale guy!
August 27, 2018
Great book... Great writing style ... And great portraying of characters' inner feelings and emotions along with their remarkable development. The romance would break and warm your heart at the same time. The end was perfect even if it leaves you wishing for more. [SPOILER] While the death of George was disappointing, the plot needed a great loss at the end. I listened to Librivox version of this book, the narrator did a great job.
June 13, 2018
A gunman’s reckoning is his understanding, and here, we have several gunmen and women, one in a main role, whose understandings of life ineluctably draw them together. “Gunman’s Reckoning” is a psychological novel, with roots in Greek tragedy and with twists worthy of far better known writers. Recommended.
February 21, 2023
Okay, 3.5.
Surprisingly nice turns of phrase in Brand's writing. He pumped out the books pretty fast. The plot included a couple interesting twists.
Characters' motivations and actions were, at times, difficult to swallow. Also, Brand is one of those writers who likes to have the conversations repeated. This can be irritating.
Would try another Brand western in the future.
Surprisingly nice turns of phrase in Brand's writing. He pumped out the books pretty fast. The plot included a couple interesting twists.
Characters' motivations and actions were, at times, difficult to swallow. Also, Brand is one of those writers who likes to have the conversations repeated. This can be irritating.
Would try another Brand western in the future.
September 29, 2017
The beginning wasn't very interesting. The middle had some promise. The ending...just kinda happened? And the characters weren't really strong enough to make up for the story. Didn't really like this one.
June 30, 2018
Max has the touch!
A truly great story!What a great imagination has Max Brand!I hope this becomes a series! I will get it! It is astounding to me how so many good books one man has written!
A truly great story!What a great imagination has Max Brand!I hope this becomes a series! I will get it! It is astounding to me how so many good books one man has written!
August 7, 2019
A good book that was written long ago, still good today
I picked this book up to kill sometime but, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only sad part is that the Colonel got to keep the mine.
I picked this book up to kill sometime but, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only sad part is that the Colonel got to keep the mine.
February 2, 2021
Entertaining reading
A will written romantic thriller Western with interesting good and bad characters. The story line is intense and fast moving to the conclusion. I would recommend to readers of Westerns. Enjoy reading 2021 ✨🎉
A will written romantic thriller Western with interesting good and bad characters. The story line is intense and fast moving to the conclusion. I would recommend to readers of Westerns. Enjoy reading 2021 ✨🎉
May 2, 2022
Donnegan
This was a different kind of western with a surprise ending. I felt that it was somewhat confusing in the beginning but made more sense as the story went on. The language used also was different than what I expected however all in all it was a good tale.
This was a different kind of western with a surprise ending. I felt that it was somewhat confusing in the beginning but made more sense as the story went on. The language used also was different than what I expected however all in all it was a good tale.
December 14, 2017
Max Brand
Story never get old,characters are always strong.written in a world that was more black and white than today.Great read 😀
Story never get old,characters are always strong.written in a world that was more black and white than today.Great read 😀
April 9, 2018
Western Style
Although this is not the genre which I prefer, I did find it entertaining. I'm sure my friends who love Louis Lamour would also like Max Brand.
Although this is not the genre which I prefer, I did find it entertaining. I'm sure my friends who love Louis Lamour would also like Max Brand.
February 27, 2019
An outlaw with a heart of gold! Good story of what the Wild West was rumored to be like.
December 29, 2019
Very well written.
September 11, 2020
Unique story
I Usually enjoy max brand's books. This was way better than most. less colloquial accent and more story. Interesting twists.
I Usually enjoy max brand's books. This was way better than most. less colloquial accent and more story. Interesting twists.
January 23, 2021
Beautiful
Fast moving
Love it
Fast moving
Love it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
August 6, 2021FreeTime to read western books
January 20, 2022
Max Brand can definitely send you on a roller coaster ride. If you are open to it. I love the emotional ups and downs.
Read
April 17, 2022Great read
This is a great western read with a big twist at the end. I highly recommend this classic American western book.
This is a great western read with a big twist at the end. I highly recommend this classic American western book.
April 4, 2025
A lot of interesting plot threads set up in this novel. Shame it ends without resolving any of them properly!
February 10, 2017
Excellently formatted ebook. A genuine must read.
January 2, 2013
This book was a good typical western yarn. I was really into the book and the characters, but the ending was not satisfactory at all. It left too many open plots with only my imagination of what happened.
It is the story of a drifter that is given a job of righting a wrong that was done. In the midst of doing this, it is determined that what he was called on to do was not the entire truth. But, the protagonist puts this aside because in taking this job, he has stumbled upon the answer to a quest that he has been on in quite a while. I would have loved to have been presented with an ending that ties up at least one of the stories being told, but the story just left me hanging.
It is the story of a drifter that is given a job of righting a wrong that was done. In the midst of doing this, it is determined that what he was called on to do was not the entire truth. But, the protagonist puts this aside because in taking this job, he has stumbled upon the answer to a quest that he has been on in quite a while. I would have loved to have been presented with an ending that ties up at least one of the stories being told, but the story just left me hanging.
June 20, 2016
Brotherly Love
Frederick Schiller Faust penned his finest when he wrote his literary famous Westerns utilizing the pen name Max Brand. Gunman's Reckoning has a thoughtful storyline which is enough to hold your interest throughout the book. His selection of challenging incidences will keep you on point. I truly enjoy a good western and certainly was not disappointed with Gunman's Reckoning. Fate led a young man to a small mining town called, The Corners, and a pretty young girl caused him to play a deceptive game. I'll leave the rest for you to discover when you read this book. Enjoy!
Frederick Schiller Faust penned his finest when he wrote his literary famous Westerns utilizing the pen name Max Brand. Gunman's Reckoning has a thoughtful storyline which is enough to hold your interest throughout the book. His selection of challenging incidences will keep you on point. I truly enjoy a good western and certainly was not disappointed with Gunman's Reckoning. Fate led a young man to a small mining town called, The Corners, and a pretty young girl caused him to play a deceptive game. I'll leave the rest for you to discover when you read this book. Enjoy!
May 31, 2014
Max Brands brilliance portrayed again.
Max Brands brilliance portrayed again.
I was far into the story before I suspected Donnegan and Nick were brothers. Brand had several opportunities to offer clues to this but held off until near the end of the story. It was the mystery that
made this novel one you couldn't put down.
Max Brands brilliance portrayed again.
I was far into the story before I suspected Donnegan and Nick were brothers. Brand had several opportunities to offer clues to this but held off until near the end of the story. It was the mystery that
made this novel one you couldn't put down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews